Leaders’ debate: on the offensive at the podium

On crime, it’s come to life a bit.

Gordon Brown told three jokes (well, quips) – very Commons style ones, a dig at the Tory posters of his face and the “airbrushed” ones of DC and a go at DC saying: “It’s not Question Time it’s answer time.” Really did sound a lot – too much probably – like PM’s Question Time.

This was supposed to be a different format. On expenses, there’s an arms race of horror between the three leaders. Gordon Brown has again tried to emphasise that he’s on the same side as Nick Clegg on the issue. Now he’s done it again on constitutional reform.

Nick Clegg seems to be resisting this aggressive love bombing and looks more like a hostage wriggling from captivity than a friend.

Few things I’ve noticed: Alastair Stewart is doing a good job trying to keep things zipping along. Nick Clegg is the only leader not to have mentioned his parents yet.

It was revealing of course what the three leaders chose to kick off with. Nick Clegg singled out greedy bankers and the need to break the old two party system. Gordon Brown focused on his finest hour – the banking crisis. David Cameron went on expenses and a jumbo apology.

One other point…Gordon Brown should probably stop speaking in lists of three things…the word “thirdly” is a bit of a killer because it never crops up in normal conversation. Nick Clegg and David Cameron are scrupulous about name-checking questioners…Gordon just doesn’t do that sort of thing so easily.

None of this is to say that Gordon Brown has collapsed, flunked it, committed an error that deserves to be replayed endlessly tomorrow. But I wonder whether his particularly combative style works in this setting.